In The Hoop: Which Way to the Chocolate?

I started big stitching on "Which Way to the Chocolate" last night. 

I'll use a variety of different chocolate colored threads on it. 

I'm using threads from my stash. Looks like I need to improve on my thread management skills. 

I'm going to sit next to the wood burning stove on this cold wintery Slow Sunday Stitching day and enjoy some slow stitching with some other folks in a virtual sewing bee. 

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Where Did Those Blue 2.5 Inch Scraps Go?

The color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is blue.  I'm still trying to clear out my 2.5 inch blue strips of scraps. 

This week I made some triangle units for a pyramid quilt.  I actually did cut some fabric for these - 3 2.5 inch strips of neutral fabric is all.   I then looked for any scraps that might be enough for at least one triangle and I sew all the blue 2.5 inch pieces into a strip about the width of the neutral strip.  Then I follow the directions on the Molly Flanders blog to make the units.   In just a few minutes you have a bunch of triangle units.  At the end of the year the units will be sewn together. 

When I sew the blue pieces together I get some split blue triangle parts like you see in the fourth row.  So nothing gets wasted. 

I participated in a floral themed Chunky Churn Dash swap last year and I still need quite a few blocks to complete a lap quilt.  So I picked out some floral themed blue 2.5 scraps and picked through my 1.5 scrap bin for some neutral/blues/purples (RSC highlight color) to make a few Chunky Churns.  Then I found pieces enough for dark/light/dark rail fence pieces.   

Other blue scraps went into six inch Twinklers and some miscellaneous 4 inch blocks.  Then when all was said and done I sewed all the 2.5 inch scraps that were less than 2.5 inch square into one big long strip. I'll decide what to do with that later...Chinese Coins?...a border?...combined with those 4 inch kitchen sink blocks?...

I used some scraps to make 8 six inch January Block Lotto Birds in the Air blocks. 

And still in my 2.5 inch scraps...I made six more Birds in the Air blocks for the Old MacDonald Mystery Sampler - a Block Lotto mystery.  I thought I wasn't going to make any more mystery quilts or samplers (other than finishing the UFO samplers I have in my midst) but this Old MacDonald sampler sounds rather intriguing. 

Ok...so, my 2.5 inch scraps are about gone. I saved out the tone on tones to make some little butterfly blocks and I saved out 3 long strips to make an actual block but other than that...I'm about finished this month with the 2.5 inch scraps.  Next week...4.5 inch blue scraps are on the agenda...and maybe some crumbs or...

Got Scraps?

Use up the blue ones this month and join us with your progress each ScrapHappy Saturday. 

Q1 FAL: Some Goals

It's time to state some goals for the First Quarter 2016 Finish Along. 

What to do....what to do....

1. Finish my lozenges (aka suppositories) quilt. It's a top and will be machine quilted.

2. Finish my rail fence/fireworks quilt. It's a top and will be machine quilted. 

3. Finish Feathers. It's a top. I'm on the fence as to whether I should machine or hand quilt with...wait for it...feathers!

4.  Butterflies (aka Beggar Blocks). Needs sashing finished.  And I think I want to have a "butterfly" border. Machine or hand quilt? Hmmmm....

5. Finish Vintage Spin.  It's almost ready to leave the hoop! 

6. Finish Which Way to the Chocolate.   To be hand quilted with big stitching. I have lots of different brown/cream threads to use on it. 

7. Finish Heartstrings (light center) for donation. 

8. Finish Butterfly Garden with some big stitching. 

9. Finish my Kaleidoscope quilt.  I made enough blocks during the 2015 Rainbow Scrap Challenge for a big quilt. Needs assembly. 

10.  Finish Vintage Tulips.  It's pinned and ready for hand quilting. 

11.  Finish Starz.    Really old blocks from a swap.  Needs assembly. 

12. Finish Jack's Chain.  To be hand quilted. Don't know what to quilt in those solid hexies yet. 

13.  Finish Crackers. Needs to be assembled and then machine quilted. 

14. Gosh, I still need a new purse.  Maybe one of these days I'll have one. 

Now that I've declared my goals it's time to meet up with others at the 

2016 Finish Along 

String Stars That Inspired Me To Make One

This year I want to try to use up scraps...real scraps...strings, crumbs...chunks...they are taking over my sewing room.   I've been working from two large garbage bags of strings which are mostly leftover backing pieces cut from the side of the quilt after quilting and before binding.  They are long pieces.  Plus thrown in there are end pieces...less than 1.5 inches wide. 

Anyway,  I'm making a string star quilt from some of those strings.  

I spy backing from Crazy Basket Case, Pirates, Christmas Magic Mountains...

...from several donation quilts, a Quilt of Valor...

...from Crazy Cravings, Spider Web/Spider Man, Petunias and a couple more girly donation quilts.  Ah, the memories! I found some indigo fabric on sale at Connecting Threads called Ghost Saltines to use as the background.  I'm using a pattern from a Fons and Porter book that uses a diamond construction technique with no Y seams. 

I was inspired to make a String Star quilt after I saw some String Stars I just fell in love with on some of my favorite blogs: 

Carla's Amish Ice Cream Social 

Martha's String Star Quilt 

Sophie's String Star Quilt

I'm sure you will find some other scrappy inspiration today at: 

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

And still more inspiration on Monday at:

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Moving it Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag

Grandma's Been Nipping at the 2.5 Inch Scraps Again

From 2.5 inch scraps I'm making some 12 inch Snake Trail blocks.  

The pattern is from Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration by Denyse Schmidt. 

I'm using some browns that look like dirt here in the Midwest for the background. 

I tried out the block with green scraps for the first time last year to see if I would like it so, of course I had to see how the blocks look together.  I think they will be a good use of scraps.  The block is pretty easy. In fact, I think it takes longer to cut pieces than it does to sew them together. 

Did I mention that blue is January's Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month?  

Again, with 2.5 inch scraps of blue and white/cream, I made 64 2.5 HSTs and then turned them into 8 inch Depression blocks. 

This is not new for me for the RSC this year. I've made a few off and on in previous years if I had 2.5 inch scraps.  I think I have a total of 47 now with those 4 blue ones I just made. I guess if I want to make a quilt 64 x 80 I'll need 33 more so hopefully 2016 will be the year I finish this UFO. 

And periodically when I go through the 2.5 inch scraps I make some 4 inch blocks to add to the pile. Someday I'll sew up my crumbs and add those 4 inch blocks to the crumb blocks.  Someday. 

Anyway, these are little mini Happy Blocks from 2.5 inch squares framed by some 1.5 inch scraps. 

Got Scraps? 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2016 has started! 

Blue is the color for January.

Make something blue and show us what you've done each ScrapHappy Saturday. 

Quilty 365: The Circle Game

I am following along with Audrey's (Quilt Folk blog) Quilty 365 circles. 

These are my finished circles for December 1 - 25.  I buttonhole my circles to a 4.5 inch HST and then write something in the muslin part of the HST that denotes a highlight of that day. 

I've been making circles since November 4.

   I showed most of November's circles in a previous post.  

These are my Dec 26 - 31 circles...not completely finished. 

We ate the last of the home grown potatoes, I started a few quilts using up scraps, it snowed, I have x amt of circles on Dec 29, I almost ran into 3 deer in the road on early morning drive to work and I'll end the year with a quote from the Cat in the Hat. 

Here's how I make my circles.

I have about a 3 inch cardboard circle template. And I use thread at the end of bobbins and spools. 

I put the circle on my fabric and cut out around it leaving 1/4 inch or more (looks like "way more)  for seam allowance.  If you want to be more precise than I happen to be you could cut a second cardboard template 1/4 inch or so larger than the size of the circle. 

I then baste around the outside of the circle staying as close to the edge as I can.  You could machine baste if you wanted. 

You have to be sure to baste a little past the starting point or you will have a little lump at that point of your circle. 

Next I take it over to the ironing board and spritz it a little with some starch (if I remember).  This helps the circle keep in shape. Don't use too much or get it too wet or the basting thread will be difficult to pull around the template and your cardboard template might start to fall apart if it gets wet too many times. (Believe me). 

I then center the cardboard template over the backside of the fabric circle and pull the basting thread tightly around the circle. 

Press and cool for a little bit. 

Remove cardboard template from circle.

Pin to background. 

There are lots of ways to make circles...probably a lot easier than I make mine but it works for me. 

Why not join in the circle game, Quilty 365...there's so many different versions at play...it's fun to see all the creativity each month at the linky party.

Quilty 365 Linkup

I Cleared Off My Desk and...

The scraps were piling  up so high on the desk where I have my sewing machine so that I could hardly see my little old Janome.  And there was certainly no room to do any machine quilting. So, it was time to sort and use some scraps. I didn't want to throw them in a box. I have too many of those scrap boxes right now. 

So, first up...I sorted out some short string scraps.  Then I used the pile of 5 inch b/w "charms" I swapped ages and ages ago and used them as the centers of my blocks with strings all around for some 9.5 inch blocks...because that's the size of one of my rulers I used to square them up.  More to come...I just sewed some up until I was tired of them.  They are kind of like the Happy Block quilts I've made in the past (central square, 2.5 inch sides).   I guess they are Happy Wonkies or Wonky Happies.  I probably have enough for a lap quilt. 

I used only bright string scraps and put the neutral ones in another pile for a different project I haven't gotten to yet.  (String hearts, maybe?) 

I swapped some patriotic chunky churn dashes several months ago and still had some patriotic and red/white/blue 2.5 inch strips on my desk so I cut them further into 2.5 squares, cut some white/cream 1.5 inch pieces and made a few Twinklers...an alternate six inch block to go with those patriotic chunky churn dashes.    I want to make at least three Quilts of Valor in 2016 for a couple of bros-in-laws and a nephew.   This will be one of them. 

Some blue tone on tone scraps were cut into 2.5 inch pieces and some waste triangles used for some little 4 inch butterfly blocks.  When I cut off waste triangles I just eyeball the 1/4 inch seam allowance so sometimes the wings are uneven.  

Some 2.5 inch scraps went toward four patches. I have a box of different four inch units/blocks that will make several donation quilts of some type or other in 2016. 

And speaking of waste triangles...I have a bunch of them left over from that butterfly garden quilt top  I made a few months ago.  There's a lot of them. I haven't sewn them all together yet but...

...I think I see a quilt using these in my future. Again, when I cut off the waste triangles I just eyeballed the seam allowances so these waste triangles do not measure all the same size and I'm not going to square them up.  I might leave some as HSTs, make some into pinwheels and/or broken dishes blocks.   I might add some fairies and more butterflies and mushrooms and other insects and fantasy creatures.  MIGHT, I say. MIGHT. We shall see what comes of this. 

When I have scraps...I improvise. Sometimes I improve my skills. Two improvs. 

And speaking of improv...why not check out some other improv quilters this month.

Ad Hoc Improv Quilting with:

Kaja at Sew Slowly

Ann at Fret Not Yourself